


soft hearts ; sharp talons

by SnorkleShit



Category: The Outpost
Genre: 1x02: Two Heads Are Better Than None, 1x03: The Mistress and The Worm, 1x07: The Colipsum Conundrum, Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Calypsum, Drugs, F/F, F/M, Gen, Healing Bros, Hurt/Comfort, I like them either way, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Janzo is a Good bro, M/M, Missing Scene, Multi, Nightmares, Polyamory, Pre-OT4, Soft!Talon, Tanzo, Tarrwynzo, This can be read platonically or romantically, Whump, not entirely canon compliant, ot4 endgame, pre-polyamory, pre-tarrwynzo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-06-15 00:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnorkleShit/pseuds/SnorkleShit
Summary: Mostly canon compliant; follows the development of mainly Talon and Janzo's relationship, but it's pre-ot4 y'all.





	1. the lotus eaters

**Author's Note:**

> Hey I pinched a nerve and now I can't sleep so I wrote this Outpost Drabble because I love this show and these characters! This first chapter takes place during episode two, and is a bit of a missing scene.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janzo helps Talon escape her nightmares.

_The stench of rancid iron is thicker than the air that carries it. Black blood covers everything, congealing like dried jam left out in the noon day sun. The smoke stings at her eyes and tears at her throat- or perhaps that's her own cries. Her own screams; Perhaps it's all her own blood as well._

_No matter how hard she fights, how fast she runs, she always ends up **here**. Kneeling next to her own bleeding heart, praying to the gods that she was dead instead. Gore burns itself into her mind over and over, the fall of the man’s axe onto her mother’s spine, the arrows riddling the ribs of the Elders, even the horses had their necks slit in the night. Nothing left breathing, save her. And even then, she wasn't sure she was still alive, nor was she even sure if she wanted to be._

_Despair was like water in her lungs, and as she fought to breathe she felt herself begin to thrash, panic overwhelming her as the cycle began anew, and the bodies all around her lived again only to fall once more. Not again, not again, **not again**..._

Talon awoke violently, aware only of the threat. She had her hand wrapped around his throat before her vision had even fully come into focus, the fear pumping adrenaline into her every atom. As her heart pounded in her ears, she realized who’s throat she was moments away from snapping.

Janzo’s frightened but surprisingly patient expression gave her a start - one look down at her torso revealed he was once again applying some medicine to her wounds, which was looking half healed. Then she remembered she was in her underclothes, inches away from a man she barely knew, and the steel returned.

She shoved Janzo away, letting him stumble.

“You where having a terrible nightmare. I thought putting a bit more painkiller on might help. Calypsum takes the edge off, yeah,” Janzo nodded to the discarded green bottle beside her on the bed, “but it’s an accelerant, darling. Going to sleep right off that’s like asking for trouble.” 

Despite Janzo’s sympathetic smile, Talon simply glared at him, feeling and looking like an antisocial cat forced to get a belly rub. 

“Do you want to talk about it? You were whimpering…” Janzo offered, and immediately regretted it. Her expression soured further. 

“You know what? I have just the thing to knock you out, nice dreamless slumber to help you heal all the way up!” Janzo informed her enthusiastically. Her expression softened, and she raised an eyebrow in interest at the word dreamless. 

The alchemist took that as his sign to approach his patient, and he pulled out the dark colored flask in his inner pocket, holding it out to her.

“It’s sweet, sickly sweet. Just like yours truly, haha...just a swig will do- or that works too, I guess.” Halfway through holding out the bottle to her, Talon had snatched it and downed half of it before he could blink. She then wiped her mouth and apologetically pressed the bottle back into his palm. She looked a bit more relaxed already as she blinked up at him, her gaze beginning to soften. She let her hand linger for a moment before she laid back down.

Tucking the bottle away with a blush, Janzo turned towards the door to go downstairs and finish cleaning up all the black blood on the staircase before anyone noticed. 

“Thank you, Janzo.” He heard her whisper, almost too quiet to be real. Maybe he’d imagined it. Either way, he walked out the door glowing, and she finally got some sleep, knowing someone cared about her soul enough to try to save it.


	2. tears, idle tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talon goes to Janzo for help, and ends up helping him for a turn.
> 
> Written and set sometime after episode 1x03.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After "The Mistress and The Worm" I got the distinct sense that the Mistress not only "adopted" all of her "kids" for free child labor, she is pretty overtly abusive, especially to Janzo.

Flashes of pain spiked through Talon’s temples, meeting up with the ache in the back of her skull, like they where old friends. She tossed and turned, the humid air of her room doing little to help her restlessness. Not to mention the distant roar of obnoxious men and women below her floorboards, drunk and dumb throughout all hours of the night and day. She was used to it. Didn't mean she had to like it.

She thought back to the elixir Janzo had offered her to help her sleep a few nights ago. It had given her some of the best sleep of her life for the nights that followed, but it seemed it's lingering effects had worn off.

Unsure of how late it was, Talon sighed. She needed to be alert in the morning if she wanted to get rid of the demon before she was responsible for anymore death. She had a responsibility, even if that meant risking waking up Janzo for more of his help. 

The last thing she wanted to do was ask for more favors in this town, but sometimes she had to remind herself that this wasn't just about her, or her discomfort. It made it easier to stomach unpleasant interactions when she thought of herself as the champion of all the people she had failed. She owed it to them to stop this madness. 

Talon got dressed so that the drunk patrons would only leer at her a little as she passed on her way down the stairs. She ignored them, noticing that the Mistress wasn't tending anyone or watching the room from her perch like she usually was.

As a yawning Talon descended the last step to Janzo’s basement workshop, she saw right off the bat that he wasn't asleep. He was sitting on the bench by his work station, and Talon stopped in her tracks as she registered what she was actually walking into. 

Janzo had his shirt off, which was unusual in itself. More alarming was the blood covering his back and shoulder. It dripped over his hand as he struggled to reach over himself and dig shards of broken glass out of his back. He was so focused on this agonizing task that he hadn't seemed to notice her entrance at all.

Talon watched, frozen, as Janzo struggled to pluck at a piece of pink glass that was wedged into his flesh at a strange angle. His hands where shaking, and he was biting his lip so hard it looked like it, too, was bleeding. Talon winced when the pressure of Janzo’s grip causes the glass to shatter, only splintering into his skin further. Janzo whimpered and cursed, foul language pouring out of his mouth as he bent over in pain. 

“Let me help with that.” Talon heard herself say softly, before she even knew it. At this, Janzo startled, spinning around and staring at her with red rimmed eyes. They were full of pain, for sure. But there was something else there...she was unused to seeing such self hatred outside the confines of her reflection.

“T-Talon! Wha- uh, no need, it's nothing. I’m the one with good hands. I’ve got it. D-do you need anything?” Janzo stammered, grabbing his tunic and pulling it back over his shoulders quickly. He stood up, even though the motion clearly pained him, ready to assist with whatever she needed. He was shaking like a leaf yet smiling at her with all the tenderness he usually did. 

Talon walked over to him without saying anything, not wanting to spook him further. She wasn't known for being good with her words anyhow. Instead, she sat down on the end of the bench, and patted the spot next to her silently.

There was a tense moment of silence. Janzo met her expectant gaze with nothing for a moment, before he finally gave in. He slowly sat down next to her, turning his face away and offering his injured shoulder for her inspection.

Talon carefully lifted his tunic off of him and let it fall onto the bench around him. She grimaced as she saw the way the shattered glass was digging into his skin, and now that she was close she could smell the heavy, overpowering scent of perfume. She realized that it must have been a perfume bottle, and she winced as she realized how much it must sting on his wounds. No wonder he was shaking from the pain. 

“I don't know what I was thinking…” Janzo sighed suddenly, which startled Talon. She hasn't even asked what had happened yet. But when she looked up at Janzo’s face, she saw it was twisted up with emotion as he stared off into space. 

“What do you mean? You think a lot of things. More than most people I know.” Talon commented, as she started to slowly pull at the largest shard of glass she could reach. 

“I thought my stupid experiments and elixirs would cheer her up. I always convince myself into these things, trying to show her how much I care in my own way. Stupid, stupid Janzo…” He muttered bitterly, shaking his head as he scolded himself. The more Janzo spoke like this, the more Talon felt deeply unsettled. She succeeded in freeing the large glass shard, and set it down on the table next to them. Then she saw a pair of metallic pinchers across the table, and she reached to pick it up. 

“Can I use this?” She asked, showing it to Janzo. Her question seemed to snap him out of his self deprivation momentarily, and he blinked.

“Yes. I was looking for those…” He muttered, disorientated, as she started to pluck the smaller pieces of glass out of his recently opened cut. 

“You’re in a lot of pain. Don't blame yourself for not being able to focus.” She replied, trying to ignore the pungent perfume rolling into her nostrils. 

“Aren't you going to ask what happened?” Janzo asked tightly. Talon didn't respond, unsure what to say. Janzo huffed a pathetic laugh at her silence. 

“Or is it that obvious to everyone what a bitch I am? Can't even defend myself against an old woman? No matter how many times she hurts me I never stop her and I always go back thinking the next stupid thing I make is going to make her smile...” Janzo mocked himself, his voice twisted into a very un-Janzo-like sneer. Talon stopped what she was doing, setting the tweezers back down so she could reach out and put a hand on his face, yanking his gaze to meet hers. 

“Hey. Stop that, right now, Janzo. I don't ever want to hear you say these things about yourself again, do you understand me?” Talon practically snarled, her voice and expression ripe with sincerity. Janzo silently nodded in her grip, wide eyes locked on to her. Talon relaxed her hand a bit, letting go of his chin in favor of placing her palm softly against his cheek. She wasn't used to touching other people gently, so she tried to remember the way her mother used to comfort her, and emulate that. It seemed so long ago, but it was something that was hard to forget. 

In that beat of silence between them, Talon wondered if Janzo’s “mother” had ever touched him gently. Or, if she had, if she had really meant it. For once, Talon realized that in some ways, she was still lucky. Her mother had truly loved her, and had shown it every day. Her family had never hurt her on purpose. Her family had never exploited her for money. It was humbling to admit to herself that she wasn't always the most miserable person on the Earth, after being alone with her misfortune and self hatred for so long. 

“Janzo,” She began in a whisper, “there’s _nothing_ weak about you. You are so strong.” 

Janzo pulled away slightly, eyebrows furrowing in confusion and his eyes becoming guarded. She used both hands on either side of his face to pull him back to her.

“I’m not mocking you, I’m serious!” She empathized. “Not wanting to raise a hand to the woman who raised you doesn't make you less of a man. It makes you more of one than anyone else in this godforsaken Outpost. I wish I could be as strong as you. The world hurts me and... I’ve never met anyone as kind as you. You haven’t let the world make you cruel.” 

Janzo’s disbelief melted into a softer expression that Talon wasn’t entirely sure how to label. Then his lip began to tremble, and she felt the tears spill over from his eyes, down over her fingers. She wiped them away with her thumbs softly, the same way her mother used to do for her. 

Janzo squeezed his eyes closed, trying to stop their flow. Talon let go of his face in favor of curling a hand around the back of his head and slowly leading his forehead onto her shoulder, letting him lean on her in the sort of embrace Talon hadn’t been a part of for years. 

It seemed to be the kind of reassurance Janzo needed to let go and cry if he needed to. He reached up and curled his fingers in the lapels of her jacket, hanging onto her like she was a rock in the storm. 

The more he cried, the more his breath shuddered and hitched, as if he was fully accepting his pain for the first time. She didn’t want him to become more distressed, so she scrambled to think...what would her mother have done, in this situation? 

She slowly started to stroke her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, rocking them back and forth slightly. She hesitantly started to sing under her breath, struggling to remember the melody and words of her mother’s favorite lullaby. It was in her native language, which she hadn’t spoken out loud for years. Not that Janzo would know the difference either way. 

At first, she wasn’t sure if the patchy, foreign lullaby was working. Maybe treating him like a child was a mistake, maybe he’d be offended. It was simply the only frame of reference she had. Then she felt his shuddering start to ease, and his breathing evened out again. Soon enough, he was pulling away from her embrace, wiping away what was left of his tears.

“Thank you, Talon. That was so beautiful...what language is that?” He asked, the curious gleam in his eye overtaking the darker emotions. She smirked. Forever the nerd. 

“The tongue of the Blackbloods. I haven’t spoken or sung it in a long time. How about you turn around for me again so we can clean this up? I don’t have as good of hands as you, but I can hold my own.” She asked, grabbing the tweezers back off the table. Janzo grimaced, but did as he was told.

“Tell me more about your people. I’ve only heard bits and pieces.” Janzo asked, when she started to pull more shards out. She did her best to tell him the less painful things she remembered, because she could tell he was welcome for the distraction.

When she was finally done, she stood and gestured towards his towering shelves of potions. 

“Where’s the stuff you used on my wounds? The stuff that doesn’t even need a bandage?” She asked.

“Over there on the left.” Janzo weakly pointed to the far corner of the table underneath the shelves. Talon crossed the room to grab the bottle of powder and a bottle of what she recognized as just plain water. 

“Let me rinse it off before.” She said, holding up the water. Janzo nodded, leaning over the bench so that when she poured the water it would splash onto the floor instead of him. Once that was done, all that was left was for Janzo to instruct her on how to properly apply the powder. 

“Is there a reason you came down here?” Janzo asked, once she was done. She wiped her hands on one of his old rags.

“I couldn’t sleep, I was hoping to get your expertise. But I’m glad I got to repay some of the kindness you’ve shown me, for once.” Talon explained. 

“I could probably use a drink of that as well. It’s the third bottle down, in the middle.” He said, grabbing his tunic and folding it up. Talon retrieved the elixir and took a sickly sweet swig, before she passed it to him. He did the same, and then he set it next to his folded up shirt on the table.

“Thank you, Talon. What you did...what you said meant a lot to me. Don’t sell your kindness short.” Janzo said, reaching to clasp her hand in his. She smiled, feeling much more at ease.

“Sleep well, Janzo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO i've decided to expand this into a loose chronological series of Soft (TM) Tanzo drabbles. If you have any requests of anything I should add to it, hit me up either here, or @jedijenkins on tumblr & twitter!


	3. the break of day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janzo stands up to the Mistress, and Talon is there to handle the fallout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the ones after it take place after The Colipsum Conundrum in a canon divergent au where they don't have to deal with Garret being infected, so after this this fic not only officially becomes canon divergent, but it's starting to head into tarrwynzo territory haha.

_“JANZOOOO!”_

Talon shot up in her bed, startled, hand already around the handle of her dagger. Once the initial shock of the waking world wore off, she sagged and flopped back into her bed, rolling her eyes. Mistress sure knew how to shake the floorboards. The way she called at Janzo like a dog made Talon’s stomach churn. Anger simmered under her flesh - a familiar sensation. She knew that saying anything about it, even to Janzo, would only be a mistake. She knew Mistress’ kind. They never saw anyone but themselves as human, and there was no changing that.

Talon listened as Janzo’s pounding footsteps echoed up the stairs from the basement. Soon, the sound of the Mistre  
barking orders and insults at Janzo rose above the drunken chatter that was typical of the hours before the dawn. Talon rolled over in bed, trying to block out the sound. After her escapade to Gallows Peak with Janzo, it was even harder to keep herself from shutting that bitch up once and for all. But she knew it would be troublesome if she stepped in in place of Janzo standing up for himself. He was truly gentle and kind, and she couldn't help but love him fiercely for that, but he would die if he didn't learn to put his foot down for himself.

As if on cue, a new sound declared itself into the night, as Janzo’s voice became rigid as steel. She had never heard him like that before, and it made her heart skip. Janzo cursing the Mistress where she stood must have hushed the entire establishment, because the chatter dropped away to an eerie silence. 

Talon propelled herself out of bed and yanked on her jacket, grabbing her sword and practically throwing herself out the door. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard the SMACK of what must have been an entire platter against flesh and bone and glass. Janzo’s cry of pain and shock sent ice through Talon’s veins. 

She made it to the bottom floor just as Janzo was backing away from the Mistress, his head lowered in submission and pain, blood and alcohol dripping from his hair. The Mistress had the platter raised once more, her eyes wide with rage. But as she stepped towards Janzo, her eyes where not on him, but flicking to everyone in the room, as they watched with rapt attention. 

Talon was sickened to her core, as if her blood wasn’t already black enough. Mistress wasn't even actually angry enough to be hitting Janzo in some blind rage, this was calculated. Just another way to show off the power she pretended to have. 

Before anyone could do much as blink, Talon was sliding across the room on her knee, coming up with a fist to the Mistress guy and a sword to her throat. As Talon stood, putting herself between the Mistress and Janzo, she smiled as she saw true surprise flick across those cold eyes for once.

“Move, and i’ll cut your tongue out like the wrinkled bitch you are.” Talon snarled into her painted face, watching the color drain from underneath her pale powdered features.

“How dare you- get out, you hussy! I should have never let you in here you wretch!” The Mistress spluttered, jerking her head away from the blade and dropping the platter as she clutched her abdomen. 

“Touch him again, and you’ll lose more than a barmaid.” Talon retorted, Before Talon could move forward and make an example of the woman once and for all, the big guy - Munt, was his name? - stepped in front of her protectively. No doubt another child she’d manipulated.

Talon was pretty sure she could take them both, but a shaking hand around her arm stopped her. She turned, and found Janzo attempting to smile at her, his eyes bloodshot from having alcohol introduced to them directly and with malice.

“Talon, please, just let it go.” He pleaded. 

“Both of you, get out!” The Mistress exclaimed, pointing a shaking finger towards the door. “Go back on the streets where I found you!”

Janzo’s head snapped up and he stared at Mistress in shock. He hadn't been expecting this, not really. He had thought it only an idle threat.

“Mum-” He began to beg, and her face twisted into an even uglier facade of a human being.

 _“I’m not your mother!”_ She sneered, words laced with poison that told everyone in the room she was enjoying how much the words would hurt. The whole room was frozen, staring at the events unfolding before them with attention so rapt they’d all momentarily forgotten their games and drinks. 

Talon knew if they stayed any longer, it could only end in blood. Janzo seemed to be in shock, his tear filled eyes staring into nothingness like the world had fallen out from under him. Talon knew all too well how that felt, so she wrapped an arm around his shoulders gingerly and pulled him away, towards the stairs to her room.

“Come on, Janzo, lets go. We’ll be okay, I've got you. Don't worry about them. It's just you and me now.” She murmured into his ear as they slowly climbed the stairs one step at a time. Janzo stared ahead of him, numb to her words. 

She lead a dazed Janzo to her room, glancing behind them to make sure nobody was following. She just had to grab a few things and then they could go. Once they entered her room and she let go of Janzo in order to grab her things, Janzo began to cry, slapping a hand over his mouth to cover up sobs. Talon slung her bag over her shoulder and grimaced, unsure of how to comfort him. She wasn’t good with things like this. 

Once again, Talon found herself scrambling to remember what her mother or even her brother might have done in this situation. She hesitantly pulled Janzo into an embrace, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t worry, Janzo. I’m here.” She said, since it was the only thing she knew to be true at the moment. She could only hope it was enough.

“Maybe - maybe if I beg her, get more colipsum-” Janzo’s shaky voice began to ramble, as he pulled away from Talon and tried to turn back towards the door. Talon stopped him, whipping him back around and planting both hands firmly on his shoulders so he wouldn’t be able to look anywhere but into her eyes.

“Janzo, listen to me. They don’t deserve you. They never will. They’ll only keep using you and abusing you until you’re not of any use to them anymore. You deserve to be around people that appreciate how wonderful you are.” Talon felt like this, right here, was the closest she’d ever come to begging for anything since she was a little girl. But she was begging Janzo to believe in himself, at least enough to walk out the door with her.

“I’m not…” Janzo began, trying to shrink into himself as he shook his head. 

“You are smart, loyal, caring, funny - dammit, Janzo, you’re the only person i’ve felt safe or happy around since my family died. You need to stop letting other people define you!” Talon insisted, letting go of his shoulders and turning to swing the window open. 

“Come on, it’s safer if we leave this way.”

Janzo stilled seemed dazed, but at least he was looking her in the eyes now without flinching. He glanced at her, and then leaned over the windowsill to look at the street below.

“Where are we going?” He asked forlornly.

“I think I know a place we can crash, at least for tonight.” Talon explained as she began to climb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is actually developing it's own storyline, wow, so stay tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah that was super short and sweet but idk as I said I couldn't sleep so here we are. The Outpost is on the CW and Syfy and it's a really good show with a lot of really kind people working on it and I hope you all watch it!


End file.
